Valve structure for semisolid products



Feb. 24, 1953 c, LUTERICK 2,629,577

VALVE STRUCTURE FOR SEMISOLID PRODUCTS Original Filed Dec. 12, 1949 upec'au/s c. ur=2kce,

INVENTOR.

Patented Feb. 24, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE VALVE STRUCTURE FOR SEMISOLID PRODUCTS Marcellus C(Luterick, Montrose, Califi, assignor to Arden Farms 00., Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation of Delaware Original application December 12, 1949, Serial No.

132,499, now Patent No. 2,600,009, dated June 10, 1952. Divided and this application July 3, 1950, Serial No. 171,811

now slowly, it is desirable to provide valve means indicates an ice cream whipping machine comwhich may be opened readily to permit the semiprising a base structure indicated at l l and the solid material to flow through the'valve and form Whipping container l2 disposed thereabove. The a fluid source and to interrupt the flow of the Whipping container in the present instance is semi-solid material in a manner to cut off the supposed to receive ice cream in a semi-solid state flow completely without possibility of dripping or and means, not shown in the present drawings, leakage. A valve of this type is a particular is provided to reduce the quantity of solid ice advantage in handling materials such as heavy cream to a semi-solid fluid condition. oils, molasses, and semi-solid ice cream, all of At the bottom of container l2 an eduction paswhich products are in a fluid state but tend to sageway i3 extends through the wall of the coniiow slowly. Such a valve is of especial importainer parts and also through the wall of a valve tance in controlling the flow of semi-solid ice sleeve or housing I l. The valve sleeve is cylincream which is delivered from a source of supply drical and tubular and is formed with a central as shown in the drawings of the above mentioned bor l5 which is unobstructed throughout its application of which this is adivision. length. The major portion of the bore i5 is of In controlling the flow of ice cream by a valve uniform diameter while the portion of the bore it is highly important that the valve shall be at the eduction end thereof is tapered inwardly easily operated and may be instantly taken apart to form a valve seat It. This seat terminates in so it can be sterilized and so that when the valve an end openi H W c 18 0f reduced a eter is opened a semi-solid material may flow rapidly as compa ed W the m bore i5 of the Sleeve. and freely through the valve without possibility It is 'to be understood that in the present inthat the temperature of the product or its flavor t e the V e Structure is designed Stand will b changed objectionably. to be disposed with the longitudinal axis of the It is the object of the present invention, theresleeve I i extending vertically. In som instances fore, to provide a valve structure which comprises oweve i ay be desired diSpOSe the Valve a few parts easily assembled and separated so horizontally or at any other angle. This will be that the entire structure may be cleaned and p in out r i sterilized without difficulty and which valve Freely mounted Within e sleeve i4 is a a ve structure may be operated to close or open withplunger [8. This plunger is cylindrical and has out the use of any packing means. a sliding fit within the sleeve i l. The lower end The present invention contemplates provision 40 0f the plunger terminates 111 an incline tapered of an outer valve housing or sleeve within which face 19 which registers with the incline Seat iii a valve plunger may reciprocate longitudinally at the lower end of the bore I5. When the and which plunger carries means co-operating incline face of the plunger it rests against the with portions of the sleeve to tend to position the face It, the flow of fluid through the sleeve [4 plunger in its seated position and also to support from the induction passageway l3 to the eduction the plunger when it is moved from its seat to an opening I! will be interrupted completely. It is. open position. The structure further contemto be understood that th plunger I8 is usually plates an induction passageway through the wall made of a solid length of some selected metal of the sleeve and an eduction passageway at the stock of circular section and that the weight of end of the sleeve. this piece of material will be sufficient to hold the Referring more particularly to the drawings face ii] of the plun er in a sealing position the invention is illustrated by way of example in against the valve seat is at the eduction end of the accompanying drawing in which: the "bore It. By taking advantage of the weight Figure 1 is a view in side elevation showing an of the plunger l8 it is not necessary to provide ice creamwhip'per as disclossed in the above menany fastening or tightening means; such struc 2 tion'ed co-pending divisional application and indicating the closed valve in section as well as indicating by dotted lines the opened position of the valve.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged or fragmentary view in elevation showing the valve of the present invention with th operating handle broken away for the sake of clearness.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 10

tures, however, might be desirable in the event the fluid controlled by the valve is under excessive pressure or the valve is disposed at some angle to the vertical. It is to be pointed out, however, that the opening I? of the sleeve I4 is spaced a substantial distance from the induction passageway I3 which passageway is disposed in a plane normal to the longitudinal axis of the sleeve. By this arrangement there is a normal tendency for the length of the plunger to cooperate with the tapered faces 16 and I9 in sealing off th flow of fluid through the valve.

The valve plunger I8 is held temporarily in its operative position within the sleeve I4 by cooperative latching and guide means. This includes a strip of material forming a fastening arm 29 which cooperates with a cam thimble 2| as will be hereinafter explained. The thimble 2| is substantially cylindrical and embraces the upper end of the sleeve I8. The arm 28 is provided with a horizontal extending portion 22 which lies in a plane normal to the end of the cylinder I l and is fastened against the end of the valve plunger It. The width of the arm 28 is such as to permit it to overhang the sleeve I4 and the thimble 2|. It is understood, however, that the arm 22 will not prevent the plunger face I9 from resting upon the valve seat I6. The arm extension 22 is led downwardly and over the side of the thimble 2| as indicated at 23. This extension carries an inturned pin 24 at its lower end. The inturned pin 24 projects into a cam groove 25 particularly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing. Here it will be seen that this groove includes an upper portion 26 which is cut circumferentially through the wall of the thimble 2!. The groove 26 terminates at one end in an upwardly presented throat 21 through which the pin 24 may pass when in register therewith, thus facilitating in instantly dismantling the valve and separating the plunger I8 from its position within the sleeve I4. The opposite end of the groove 26 terminates in an arcuate latch seat 28 which occurs along the lower face of the groove. This latch seat or cutaway portion will receive the end of pin 24 and hold the plunger I8 in its uppermost position with the valve open. An arcuate groove 29 extends downwardly from the lower edge of groove 26 and at a point in advance of the arcuate seat 28. This groove describes a helix and is at a relatively steep pitch. Groove 29 terminates in a semi-circular end 3!] into which the pin 24 may move when the plunger travels to its lowermost position. Secured upon the vertical extending portion 23 of the arm 22 is a handle 3| which is of suflicient size to permit an operator to ro tate or lift the plunger I8 and to hold the plunger while it is being removed from position within the sleeve I4 or placed therein.

In operation of the present invention the valve is connected with any suitable source of fluid and particularly fluid which is in a semi-solid condition and flows at relatively low pressure. The induction passageway I3 is established through any suitable member communicating with the container carrying the fluid. This passageway is free to establish flow of fluid from the container I2 and to the cylindrical valve housing I4 providing the plunger i8 is in its elevated position.

The elevated position of the valve is indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1. It will be understood that when the valve is in this position, the pin 24 on the handle arm 20 has been elevated along the arcuate groove 29 and then moved by rotation of the plunger to a position of rest when in the arcuate seat 28. Due to this arrangement, the valve plunger will be rotated in elevated position and. will have been rotated around the longitudinal axis of the plunger as the plunger I8 is lifted. When it is desirable to lower the tapered end face I9 of the valve plunger It on to the valve seat I6 of the sleeve I4, the handle 3| may be grasped to lift the pin 24 from the arcuate seat 28 and to rotate the pin 24 until it registers with the arcuate groove 29. The handle may then be released after which the plunger may move to its lowermost position by the weight of the plunger or as force is applied to the handle 3| that the pin 24 will pursue a helical path as defined by the groove 29. This will act to rotate the plunger I3 as the plunger moves longitudinally and as the tapered face I9 of the plunger I8 reaches the tapered seat It of the cylinder I4 there will tend to be a wiping action between the two tapered faces. This will also occur as the plunger is lifted. It will be obvious that on the downward movement of the plunger there will be a self-cleaning action of the valve as the tapered faces rub against each other and the plunger rotates. It will also be evident that in the event the valve sticks, due to any cause, such as freezing, the action of the pin 24 traveling along the helical groove 29 will tend to produce rotational movement of the plunger and relieve any sticking or binding action between the surfaces of the plunger I3 and the sleeve I4. When the valve has been used and should be cleaned for any reason, the pressure is applied to the handle 3| so that the pin 24 will climb upwardly along the helical groove 29 and the pin 24 registers with the circumferential groove 26, the handle 3| may then be manipulated to move the pin 24 into register with the throat 21 after which the plunger I9 may be elevated bodily and removed from the sleeve. It may then be sterilized and if desired the sleeve I4 and its seat 16 may also be sterilized. The plunger and the sleeve may be instantly reassembled so that the valve is ready for operation without the use of tools, or without the necessity of packing of any kind.

It will thus be seen that the valve here disclosed is simple in construction, that it may be manipulated easily and that it may be quickly cleaned or sterilized as desired.

While I have shown the preferred form of my invention, it will be understood that various changes may be made in the combination, construction and arrangement of parts by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention as disclosed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a valve for semi-solid products, the combination of: a tubular valve sleeve having a cylindrical bore; means for mounting said sleeve vertically and providing a passageway which opens into the bore of said sleeve near the lower end thereof; a cam thimble embracing an upper portion of said sleeve and having formed therein a cam slot; a cylindrical plunger slidably fitted within said sleeve for vertical movement therein; a control arm provided on the upper end of said plunger, said control arm extending outwardly and downwardly outside said thimble; a finger provided on said arm and extending into said cam slot, a lower portion of said slot receiving said In either event, it will be noted finger when said arm comes to rest on the upper end of said sleeve, the lower end of said plunger at this time being flush with the lower end of said sleeve, an upper portion of said slot providing a rest for receiving said pin when the latter is swung into place over said rest and when said plunger is lifted to uncover the passageway for feeding semi-solid material into and through the lower portion of said sleeve; and a handle on said arm for manipulating said plunger and opening and closing said valve.

2. A combination as in claim 1 in which a steeply bevelled seat is formed just within the lower open end of the cylindrical bore of said sleeve, and in which the lower extremity of said 15 plunger is correspondingly bevelled to fit said seat when said plunger is in its lowermost posi tion with its lower end flush with the lower end of said sleeve.

MARCELLUS C. LUTERICK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 223,886 Conklin Jan. 2'7, 1880 618,631 Winters Jan. 31, 1899 1,597,794 Horsburgh Aug. 31, 1926 1,609,658 Moseley Dec. 7, 192-6 

